Tag Archives: Baptism

A comparison is drawn between salvation in the ark and baptism. In both instances, believers are saved through the waters of judgment, since baptism portrays salvation through judgment. The mere mechanical act of baptism does not save, for Peter explicitly says, “not as a removal of dirt from the body,” meaning that the passing of water over the body does not cleanse anyone. Baptism saves you because it represents inward faith, as evidenced by one’s appeal to God for the forgiveness of one’s sins (for a good conscience). Furthermore, baptism “saves” only insofar as it is grounded in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is a visual representation of the fact that Christians are clothed with Christ (cf. Gal. 3:27), and in union with Christ they share his victory over sin.

Raised more-or-less Baptist, with the influence of Dispensational theology, I’ve been increasingly influenced by Reformed theology. One aspect of what is typically considered Reformed theology is infant baptism.

Here are some resources I’m looking at to inform my view on this subject:

You might notice that these are primarily from the credobaptist viewpoint (with the exception of the Lutheran page). That’s mainly because that’s the view I currently hold, and I want to see the arguments for this view. If I’m going to be convinced to change my mind, I’m not going to do it lightly. When I read the arguments in favor of paedobaptism, I need to be convinced that the case is stronger than the case for credobaptism if I’m going to change my view.

At this point, it appears to me that the strongest arguments for paedobaptism are historical precedent and the framework through which one understands the Old and New Covenants. I’m sure there are other reasons, but the comparison of baptism to circumcision seems to be the primary argument, backed up by historical practice.

While not pertaining to baptism, per se, this is another link I’m perusing: